Directing

David Giles

Born October 18, 1926 · Shipley, Yorkshire, England, UK

Died January 6, 2010 · aged 83

David Giles (18 October 1926 – 6 January 2010) was a British television director. Giles was born on October 18, 1926 in Shipley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a director, known for The Barchester Chronicles (1982), The Forsyte Saga (1967) and The Dance of Death (1969). He died on January 6, 2010 in London, England, UK.

Known For

Henry IV Part 1Henry IV Part 1 · 1979
Henry IV Part 1
★ 7.21979
MovieDramaHistory
Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.
Henry VHenry V · 1979
Henry V
★ 6.21979
MovieDramaWar
Insulted by the Dauphin, the newly-crowned King Henry V gathers his troops for war. But Henry must convince his men that he has left his wild days behind, and prove himself as a leader.
Henry IV Part 2Henry IV Part 2 · 1979
Henry IV Part 2
★ 8.51979
MovieDramaHistory
The death of King Henry the Fourth and the coronation of King Henry the Fifth.
The Winslow BoyThe Winslow Boy · 1977
The Winslow Boy
★ 8.01977
MovieDrama
The term at Osborne Naval College is not yet over. Why, therefore, has cadet Ronnie Winslow returned home? And why, moreover, is he hiding in the garden in the rain?
The Dance of DeathThe Dance of Death · 1969
The Dance of Death
★ 6.71969
MovieDrama
An egocentric artillery captain and his venomous wife engage in savage unremitting battles in their isolated island fortress of the coast of Sweden at the turn of the century. Alice, a former actress who sacrificed her career for secluded military life with Edgar, reveals on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, the veritable hell their marriage has been. Edgar, an aging schizoid who refuses to acknowledge his severe illness, struggles to sustain his ferocity and arrogance with an animal disregard for other people.
The Life and Death of King JohnThe Life and Death of King John · 1984
The Life and Death of King John
★ 7.31984
MovieHistoryDrama
The reign of England's King John is threatened by Philip of France who demands that John's nephew Arthur be placed on the throne. Pragmatic and decisive, King John moves to plactate the French, but there are others who seek disputre his authority.
The Fools on the HillThe Fools on the Hill · 1986
The Fools on the Hill
1986
MovieDramaTV Movie
This is a dramatisation of the events surrounding the opening night of British television on November 2, 1936 at Alexandra Place in London. It was produced to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
Richard IIRichard II · 1978
Richard II
★ 8.01978
MovieDramaHistory
Richard II, who ascended the throne as a child, is a regal and stately monarch. He believes he is the rightful ruler of England, ordained by God, yet he is a weak and ineffective king - wasteful in his spending habits, unwise in his choise of chansellors, and detached from his country and its people. When he seizes the land of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, both the commoners and the barons decide that their king has gone too far...

Filmography

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CompactCompact · 1962
Compact
★ 5.01962
SeriesDramaSoap
Compact was a British television soap opera shown by the BBC between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, who together went on to devise Crossroads. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of Coronation Street, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays. When Compact began, the editor was a woman, Joanne Minster, yet it was not long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon, the son of the magazine's owner. Despite being largely criticised by reviewers, Compact was popular with the general public, and in 1964 a regular omnibus edition was introduced, broadcast on Sundays. Morris Barry, a some-time actor and BBC director – he directed several Doctor Who stories in the 1960s – took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticism it had received from the national press. But the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera, quietly dropped the series in 1965.

Director

The Forsyte SagaThe Forsyte Saga · 1967
The Forsyte Saga
★ 8.41967
SeriesDrama
The Forsyte Saga is a 1967 BBC television adaptation of John Galsworthy's series of The Forsyte Saga novels, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy. The series follows the fortunes of the upper middle class Forsyte family, and stars Eric Porter as Soames, Kenneth More as Young Jolyon and Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene. It was adapted for television and produced by Donald Wilson and was originally shown in twenty-six episodes on Saturday evenings between 7 January and 1 July 1967 on BBC2, at a time when only a small proportion of the population had television sets able to receive this channel. It was therefore the repeat on Sunday evenings on BBC1 starting on 8 September 1968 that secured the programme's success with 18 million tuning in for the final episode in 1969. It was shown in the United States on public television and broadcast all over the world, and became the first BBC television series to be sold to the Soviet Union.

Director

The BBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare · 1978
The BBC Television Shakespeare
★ 6.01978
SeriesDramaComedy
The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.

Director

The Mayor of CasterbridgeThe Mayor of Casterbridge · 1978
The Mayor of Casterbridge
★ 6.81978
SeriesDrama
The Mayor of Casterbridge is a 1978 BBC seven-part serial based on the eponymous 1886 book by the British novelist Thomas Hardy. The six-hour drama was written by dramatist Dennis Potter and directed by David Giles, with Alan Bates as the title character. Michael Henchard, an out-of-work hay-trusser, gets drunk at a fair and, for five guineas, sells his wife and child to a sailor. When the horror of his act finally sets in, Henchard swears he will not touch alcohol for twenty-one years. Through hard work and acumen, he becomes rich, respected, and eventually the mayor of Casterbridge. But eighteen years after his fateful oath, his wife and daughter return to Casterbridge, and his fortunes steadily decline.

Director